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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> condemning syria posed a bird cracked on. the u.n. demands an end to gross and systematic violations against anti-government protesters. diplomats from iran's embassy in london and drive back in iran. stock markets enjoyed their best week for almost three years. welcome to bbc news, broadcast to our viewers around the globe. coming up later for the, russia's public servants' luxury lifestyle. report on the epidemic of corruption and greed. how modern technology proved this painting was by rembrandt.

the top human rights body at the united nations accused syria of gross and systematic violations in the suppression of protesters. a resolution passed by the u.n. human rights council has been described as the toughest of there. it demands the immediate end to the violence, the release of political prisoners, and the suspension of the security forces suspected of abuses. from a symbol, we report. >> a standoff in northwestern syria. at the moment, there is no shooting. "we don't fear your soldiers or your militia." it was similar in other towns. they are calling for more international help, for protective buffer zones.

the president's opponents cannot oust him. his efforts have exacted a heavy human cost. >> the commission documents widespread, systematic, and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedom by authorities by acts such as killing of children by beating or shooting during demonstrations, arbitrary detention, torture, and ill treatment. >> it is an emergency session of the u.n. human rights council. delegates are giving a chilling report. >> our message is clear. the world stand by you and we will not ignore your plight in the face of violence. to the syrian government, the time has come to end the flagrant violations of the human rights of your people and to step aside so that syria can

transition peacefully and democratically. >> the council passed a resolution condemning the abuses. the high commissioner wants them referred to the international criminal court. the report was dismissed. it lacked objectivity, he said. the u.s. is leaning heavily on turkey to push for change in syria. joe biden was in the turkish capital today paying his respects to an earlier leader who helped this country to modernize. he also put praise on his turkish coast for the example they offer to the rest of the middle east. turkey has its own dilemmas over syria. it fears further chaos will destabilize their long border and drive waves of refugees to join the thousands who have already fled here. intervention by turkish troops to protect civilians is being rolled out for now.

evens could yet change that policy. bbc news, istanbul. >> shell is halting work in syria to comply with new sanctions. the company said it also had to consider the safety of its staff. other european companies are now expected to follow their example. the british ambassador to iran says it is clear the authorities in tehran were behind the bombing of recent british compounds. irani police stood back as demonstrators entered the compound. these are the pictures of the people now arrived back in tehran. we have been speaking to the british ambassador to iran. >> on tuesday afternoon,

protesters stormed into the british embassy. the ambassador and his staff had to lock themselves into a safe room. now, pictures from the ambassador's own camera show how much damage they did and just how close they came to him and his staff. >> there were trying to smash the windows and doors down below. they could not get into our part of the building. at 1 point, they start the fire. in the end, it was the fire and smoke coming into the third floor corridor that forced us out. >> they were not hurt. to the ambassadors or, he faced a bigger problem. he sent his nonessential staff to a separate residential compound, but protesters went after them as well. >> one colleague had lost -- locked himself in and pressed and iron safe against the door. he pushed the bet against the safe. they came to him. they knew he was there.

you can imagine what it is like, they're breaking windows, trying to bash the door in. he kept them off for 45 minutes. in the end, the door was broken around him. >> eventually, he got out. protesters looted and stole hard drives. they also went to work on a few british symbols. queen victoria's portrait of their region barely survived. edward vii is defaced. all british diplomats left tehran with a firm belief as to who was responsible. >> iran is not the sort of country where spontaneously a demonstration congregates and then attacks a foreign embassy. that sort of activity is only done with the acquiescence and support of the state. >> that is why britain has expelled iran's diplomats from the uk this morning, they packed up. >> iran's diplomats are leaving

in a hurry. the government has decided to close the -- the government has called their decision to close the embassy a hasty 1. >> james reynolds reporting. the u.s. secretary of defense leon panetta said israel has to act to stop its growing isolation in the middle east. he urged israel to repair diplomatic ties with traditional partners such as egypt and turkey and renew peace efforts with palestinians. >> israel, too, has a responsibility to pursue our shared goals, to build regional support for israel and the united states security objectives. i believe security is dependent on a strong military, but it is also dependent on strong diplomacy. unfortunately, over the past year, we have seen israel's

isolation from its traditional security partners in the region grow, and the pursuit of a comprehensive middle east peace has effectively been put on hold. >> the united states says pakistan is refusing to take part in an investigation into a nato air strike last saturday that killed 24 pakistani is near the afghan border. clarence was given by pakistan. the accord commits given to them were wrong. in retaliation, pakistan shut down the suppliers americans used to send supplies to their troops in afghanistan. the united states says russian authorities are conducting harassment against the country's only independent election observer group. the accusations of a court ruling that found the group guilty of violations after parliamentary elections.

but vladimir putin has said western governments are trying to influence the election through non-governmental organizations. stock markets have recorded some of their biggest weekly gains in nearly three years, reflecting hopes there is further action to deal with the eurozone debt crisis. traders are hoping the deal will be agreed to at a european summit next week. german chancellor angela merkel warned it will take years to resolve the situation. >> at this critical time, here is the european central bank celebrating the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the euro bank note. >> the euro, our money. >> in the german parliament today, angela merkel was looking for a plan that would save the single currency. her ambitious idea is for eurozone countries to be bound

more closely together with tough rules to prevent government's overspending. >> anybody who just a few months ago would have said we were introducing very serious debt for european stability union, a fiscal union would have been considered crazy. >> she said, however, fixing the crisis was a process that would take years. at the heart of the latest plan devised by angela merkel is turning the eurozone it tick -- into a fiscal union with tighter control over tax and spending. there would be sanctions against those who broke for roles with countries possibly being taken to the european court of justice. national budget could even be vetoed. >> of course, this is difficult to swallow for any politician are sovereign country. however, the situation at the moment is such that countries cannot bargain for very much. they need to agree with whatever

is on the table in order for the crisis to be resolved. otherwise, the consequences would be dire. >> in angela merkel's view, these plans require changes to this treaty. that is controversial. in the past, haggling over treaties such as lisbon took years and involved some countries referenda. what is unclear is whether these latest proposals to alter the treaties will be limited or substantial. treaty changes pose a big dilemma for britain. today, the prime minister was in paris visiting president sarkozy, who is also backing the treaty change -- backing treaty change. the british position is to wait until it is clear what the final proposal will be. >> if there's treaty change, i will make sure we further protect britain's interest. we will see what happens next

friday. i'm convinced the bottom line for me is always what is in the interest of the u.k. >> his dilemma is that a major treaty change would require british support, and many of his backers would see that as an opportunity to get back powers from brussels. >> we have to say that you proposed the negotiation of the european treaties. we're not going to except those on your terms. >> europe builds bridges. >> the european central bank might be celebrating 10 years of euronotes and. . what the financial markets will want to know is how long it will take for these latest plans to have impact. . >> the number of people out of work in the u.s. has fallen to its lowest level in 2.5 years. the unemployment rate was 8.6% last month, down from 9% in october. more than 13 million americans

are still jobless. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> what a christmas gift to the president has got. ♪ it is not exactly wonderland, but getting america's unemployment comfortably below 9% is a welcome boost. many of the 120,000 extra jobs created last month came in retail. shoppers dug into their purses and stores took on extra workers to help. results? a little economic fairy dust. mr. obama already knows the trend won't last if congress does not act. >> we need to keep that growth going. right now, that means congress needs to extend the payroll tax cut for working americans for another year. congress needs to renew unemployment insurance for americans who are still out there pounding the pavement looking for work. failure to take either of these

steps would be a significant blow to our economy. >> here is the more depressing reality behind the good news headline. the unemployment number is down in part because thousands of dispirited americans have given up even looking for work. republicans were quick to point out, 13 million are still out of work. >> the obama administration promised that unemployment would not exceed 8% if we passed the stimulus bill. that promise has gone unfulfilled. >> president obama cannot rest easy on one month's figures, but there is a glimmer of hope in these numbers. that is something anyone would love to find under the christmas tree. >> you are watching bbc news. the peruvian community rocked by fans to expand a local prison.

the british government has won an important ruling on the way pensions are calculated for millions of public-sector workers. the decision about which is used as unlawful. >> between 1,000,002 million public-sector workers went on strike over changes to their pensions. -- between 1 million and 2 million public-sector workers went on strike over changes to their pensions. pensions are rated annually to take account of the rising cost of goods. traditionally, the retail price index measure has been used. in april, the government switched to the consumer prices index, which it says is a more accurate reflection of the inflation we all feel. cpi tends to be lower. millions of former public sector employees now face a cut in what they will receive. >> cpi is sort of like a

percentage point. i probably won't notice of next year. it is the same amount every year that my pension will be eroded and the road. that does not seem just. >> take a teacher retires on 10,000 pounds a year. over 20 years, she will now receive almost 40,000 pounds less. that is an enormous savings for the government and taxpayers, which will allow -- amount to 11 billion pounds a year across pensions benefits and tax credits in four years' time. there were sighs of relief at the treasury when the result of this case finally came. the government was pretty confident it would win. it said it welcomes the high court's acceptance of the decision to use the consumer prices index for inflation prices affecting pensions and benefits. >> for more on that story and everything we feature in this

bulletin, have a look at bbc.com. this is bbc news. these are the headlines. the u.n.'s human rights council has condemned syria's bloody repression of anti-government protesters. diplomats from iran's embassy have arrived back in tehran after their expulsion by the british government. at least one person has been killed and 20 injured during clashes between protesters and police in peru. residents in the province took to the streets for a second day to demonstrate against the planned expansion of a local jail. they fear a bigger presence will bring in more criminals to their community. we report from lima. >> the violence started when police tried to remove rocks and burning tires from the main highway near the peruvian capital. residents in the province had

set up the road blocks as part of their indefinite strike after failed talks with the government about the future of their local jail. they clashed with dozens of police officers. 12 rounds were fired and a man was shot in the chest and killed. it is a tourist destination close to lima and residents do not want their province to have the bigger jail. >> we cannot allow the construction of more jails in the province. we just have one built seven years ago. >> the existing prison was intended to house a fraction of the inmates currently there. the government has said it wants to improve conditions. following the clashes, it announced it would temporarily shelve the expansion plans until an agreement with the community can be reached. these a the first casualties in the newly elected government. the president took power in

july, falling to implement more inclusive policies. he was forced to cancel plans to attend a regional summit in venezuela because of continuing social unrest across the country. lima, peru. >> the egyptian authorities announced some of the results from the first round of the parliamentary elections. the muslim brotherhood is thought to be ahead in the vote appeared voter turnout was more than 60%. >> protesters are still camped out in cairo's square. demonstrations helped bring about these historic elections. on friday, they got to hear the first handful of results. so far, the most important figure appears to be the turnout. >> the total number of registered voters in these areas

is 30 million, 614,000, 525. -- 30,614m,525. even the forgeries of past elections did not reach such a percentage. >> millions went to the polls in egypt's first elections since the toppling of president mubarak. early results are not clear. the muslim brotherhood is thought to be leading. only four candidates have one seat out. the others face runoff elections next week. this is only the first page in a long and complex process. in total, there are three rounds of voting, over three months. the full and final outcome probably will not be known until next year. . -- bbc news. >> more on the parliamentary elections in russia. the biggest electoral question,

how many seats vladimir putin's ruling party will take. our correspondent in moscow investigates. >> in moscow graveyard, the tune of a young corporate lawyer. he died in prison after a severe beating and months of medical neglect. he had been investigating attacks from over 100 million pounds. the tax officials and policemen he accused of organizing it turned the tables on him and had him arrested. within a year, he was dead. the tax inspectors signed off of a huge rebates at the heart of the situation. her family became multimillionaires soon afterward. her mother is now the registered owner of this ultramodern luxury house worth over 10 million pounds. her husband bought one in to

buy. she claims the money came from her husband's business. their tax returns choi joint income of only 20,000 pounds. >> it is terrible. i do not know how those people live with themselves. they have no conscience. i find it very difficult to come to terms with them. >> to many observers, the death epitomizes some of modern russia's biggest problems. how to control officials enriching themselves, and nobody to bring them to account? outside moscow, dozens of secret of luxury estates have sprouted up. these 10 million-pound houses should be way out of the reach of any public servant. they are not. >> up to 60% of the buyers of housing, a top-and housing in

housing inop-end russia, are government workers. >> there are top of the range mercedes and bmw's. this was uncovered by a former kgb officer in one of the few voices in parliament against the rampant corruption. >> our bureaucrats did not save any money. they spent a lot just for their luxury, just for their pleasure. >> the correction is spiraling because the parliament has become a tiger. during this session on fraud, no one was listening. the deputies themselves were cheating, running around voting on behalf of colleagues who had not turned up. , -- bbc news, moscow. >> and rembrandt painting is

been discovered. they use high-tech devices to reveal a piece of hidden art underneath. we have this report from the netherlands. >> discovering an old master with helpful very modern technology. art critics have often claimed this is not really a rembrandt. it could be the work of one of his students. these special x-ray machines can detect and reveal exactly what is hidden behind the old man with the beard. scientists say this unmistakable outline proves it is the work of the master. >> this painting was discovered recently and attributed to rembrandt by the leading rembrandt expert, partially based on the x-ray image of this painting because below the surface of this painting is actually an unfinished self portrait of rembrandt. many of his paintings have been reduced.

the painter usually recycled. they painted on top of existing compositions. that is also the case in this painting. >> it is often tricky to establish the authenticity of a rembrandt, partly because he used to encourage his entourage to copy his work. sometimes he would touch up what they had done and sell it as his own. now with new technology, we know what we're looking at. this painting is currently owned by a private collector. it will be in the rembrandt museum in amsterdam. bbc news in the netherlands. >> you are watching bbc news. a quick reminder of our main news. in geneva and switzerland, the united nations human rights council accused syria of gross violations of human rights in the treatment of anti-government

protesters. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global strength to work for a

wide range of financial companies. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.